Coin Collecting

From MeritBadgeDotOrg

This is the Coin Collecting merit badge for Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers.Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers can also earn the Collections and Stamp Collecting merit badges.Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts can earn the Cub Scout Collecting belt loop and pin.

Coin Collecting merit badge

Status:

Elective

Created:

1938

Discontinued:

no

BSA Advancement ID:

035

Requirements revision:

2009

Latest pamphlet revision:

2008

Contents

Coin collecting is one of the oldest of all hobbies. Hoards of ancient coins found in excavations indicate that coins were one of the first collectibles. From earliest times, people valued coins not only as a means of trading and storing wealth, but also as miniature works of art.

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Coin Collecting merit badge requirements

Understand how coins are made, and where the active U.S. Mint facilities are located.

Explain these collecting terms:

a. Obverse

b. Reverse

c. Reeding

d. Clad

e. Type set

f. Date set

Explain the grading terms Uncirculated, Extremely Fine, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, and Poor. Show five different grade examples of the same coin type. Explain the term proof and why it is not a grade. Tell what encapsulated coins are.

Know three different ways to store a collection, and describe the benefits, drawbacks, and expenses of each method. Pick one to use when completing requirements.

Do the following:

a. Demonstrate to your counselor that you know how to use two U.S. or world coin reference catalogs.

b. Read a numismatic magazine or newspaper and tell your counselor about what you learned.

Describe the 1999-2008 50 State Quarters Program. Collect and show your counselor five different quarters you have acquired from circulation.

Collect from circulation a set of currently circulating U.S. coins. Include one coin of each denomination (cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, dollar). For each coin, locate the mint marks, if any, and the designer’s initials, if any.

Do the following:

a. Identify the people depicted on the following denominations of current U.S. paper money: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.

b. Explain “legal tender.”

c. Describe the role the Federal Reserve System plays in the distribution of currency.

Do ONE of the following:

a. Collect and identify 50 foreign coins from at least 10 different countries.

b. Collect and identify 20 bank notes from at least five different countries.

c. Collect and identify 15 different tokens or medals.

d. For each year since the year of your birth, collect a date set of a single type of coin.

Do ONE of the following:

a. Tour a U.S. Mint facility, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or a Federal Reserve bank, and describe what you learned to your counselor.

b. With your parent’s permission, attend a coin show or coin club meeting, or view the Web site of the U.S. Mint or a coin dealer, and report what you learned.

c. Give a talk about coin collecting to your troop or class at school.